One gamer fan asked about Rooker’s role in
Call of Duty: Black Ops II and whether he played the role of Harper, which he did, while another asked about his kill ratio in the game. Naturally, Rooker insisted he kills everything around him.
When Reedus finally arrived, the crowd went nuts, of course. A fan asked a question about whether the three actors had read the comics prior to their roles and what were the differences in playing a character that was in the comic or ones freshly created from the show. Jon’s perspective was just excitement about getting the role, so he got his hands on the comics and started reading, only to realize his character dies pretty early, which was a bummer. But as Rooker points out, he was so kick-ass that he stayed on for two seasons. Reedus said he never read the comic before, but he felt it was a blessing to be new characters. He naturally read the comic once he got the job, but as a fresh character, there are so many possibilities for the characters. Rooker got the comic and read it, then called his agent because he couldn’t find his character anywhere. He was happy to find out his character was created for the show and thought it was pretty cool. Another fan asked about on-set pranks and there was some banter about a BB gun Reedus bought Andy (Andrew Lincoln) for his birthday and how a few folks got shot in the butt.
Another fan asked if any of them had an actual plan for a zombie apocalypse. Reedus says his plan is to hole up in the penthouse of the Four Seasons, while Jon doesn’t have a plan at all. Rooker says most major cities are going to go down pretty quick, so he mentioned being out in the countryside because it will be safer. Another fan asked who would win if the three of them were pitted against each other in the zombie fighting pit. They all pretty much said they’d hide behind each other, with Jon probably being pushed out in front. He’s dead already anyway, right?
When asked which character’s death was the biggest shock, Lori's recent death was mentioned, even though she died in the comics, but T-Dawg was high on the list. Reedus also mentioned Madison (Sophia), because she was just a sweet little girl. Of course, Rooker jumped in saying she was a liability, being a little girl and slower than the rest. Always the charmer, that one. Marc Lee was quick to point out that Merle was a liability on that roof as well and Rooker said there was no way Merle was a liability. He also said he’d be shocked if they got through three or four episodes without someone dying.
When asked if there were any onset romances they could talk about, Rooker joked about a Merle/Darryl romance, whereas Reedus said he is sleeping with everyone he can, as often as possible.
Someone asked of the possibility of Bernthal returning to the show as Shane in flashbacks and he said he'd love the opportunity. Of course, later that night in the mid-season finale, we saw just that, but he mentioned how difficult it is when you are working on one show to cross-over into another. Rooker then jumped in saying maybe they'd all come to his new show. Reedus was asked about the most difficult scene he did in The Walking Dead and he mentioned the rock climbing scene with Merle where Rooker was calling him names while scorpions were walking near his face. It really is hot and they are really in the woods, so some scenes are tough.
As time drew to a close and the last question was asked, the three panelists said they'd answer questions with one-word answers, shotgun style, with Rooker shutting down the Darryl questions in amusing mocked frustration. The best one was when someone asked Reedus if Darryl still has Merle's mummified hand and Reedus deadpanned, "Ebay."
Overall, it was a great panel and The Walking Dead panels at Wizard World New Orleans Comic-Con just keep getting better each year. Thanks to Jon Bernthal, Michael Rooker and Norman Reedus for visiting the Crescent City and we hope to see you at the next show!
